The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1887-09-03
The Vastness OF the Gnyernnent'. Iinau-
cial Operations.

cial Operations.
Few persons perhaps WhO read the fire.
quently published reports of the fiscal
operations OF the Government give any
consideration to the vastn+ss and siguiti
canoe of the operations. We read of TIE
huudreas of millions of gold and silver
in the Treasury, but how few persons
have any intelligent idea Of what is ON
braced III the nine figures required to de
scribe the Liabilities and assets of the
Governments It, is only when the auri
ferrous contents of the Treasury vaults
are weighed and measured and plac a by
the side of articles and commodities that
are daily handled by the masses, that N
intelligent comprehension can be oh
tanned by the people of the iin,nciat
| strength of the Treasury, the great ex
tcpt of the Governments hSc Il opera
tions. ] find by reference to the latest
published statement of Treasury assets
and liabilities that among the assets was
52Sl. 296 Al in gold, and nearly sol ,000,
| 600 in silver, including "a 600 600 of trade
| dollars and fractional coins. Taking up
these S2Sl, 600. 900 of gold and placing
them on the scales, l find that the gold
held by the Treasury weighs 5l9 tons.
and. if packed into ordinary carts, one
ton to each cart, it wonld make a pro
cession two miles loag, allowing twenty
feet of space for the movement of each
horse and cart. The weighing of the
| silver produces much more interesting
results. Running this over the scales
fad it's weight to be 1896 tons. Measur-
| ng it in carts, as in the case of the gold,
the silver now held by the Treasury
would require the services Of 1896 horses
and carts to transport it, and would make
a procession over twenty ono miles in
length.
The ''surplus, about which so much
is said in the daily newspapers, amounts
to nearly 81, 600, 900, an incre Use of 50.
600 600 since July 1St. Counted as gold
the surplus would weigh Soy tons;
counted as silver it would weigh 1885
TONS Each million of gold adds 36S5
pounds to the surplus and each million of
silver adds IS, $50 pounds. Applying
cubic measurements to the Treasury gold
aud silver, and piling the two metals on
Pennsylvania avenue as cord wood is piled
before delivery to the purchase, | find
that the gold would measure 81 cords
| 10 I'll hat hot
would extend from the Treasury Depart
ment to Four and One half street, or
from the Treasury to the Pension Office
in straight line and forming a sold
wall feet high and 4 feet broad for u
distance Of seven eighths of mile. Ex-
tending these calculations and c1mpari-
sons to the interest bearing debt equally
interesting results are obtained. The
public debt reached the highest point in
August, 1860, just % years ago, when il
was 81. 3S1 $50, 295 The general reader
will better appreciate the vastness of the
sum when informed that it represents
20 1856 tons of silver, which would make
procession Of carts that would extend
from Richmond, Va, to point - miles
: north of Philadelphia, the distance ii
would thus cover being 266 miles. The
interest bearing debt is now, not includ
ing the Pacific Railroad bonds, s 600,
: 9,6, $50, showing that the sum paid has
been 81, 319, 553. i45, or more than one
half of the total amount and represent
ing 40, G37 tons of silver dollars, which
S would extend 154 miles. if packed il
carts containing one ton each. Reducing
. these figures to a basis where they may
be intelligently comprehended aud tina
e the rapidity with which the Government
8 has reduced its bonded debt may be full,
q realized by the general reader, | fin,
/, that the reduction has been at the aver
e age rate $62 706, 915 each year, 81, 225, IS
t each month"; $l14, ISG each day, S125
: each hour and $120 and AZ cents for ever
= minute of the entire % years. Pursuin!
the calculation to the smallest divisibl,
: space of time, the bonded debt of tn
: United States has been decreased at tn,
S rate of two dollars aud seven mills TO
every second. or for every swing of tn
, pendulum, for the entire period fror
August 81, 1860, to July 81, 1887. Thi
/, is an exhibition of recuperation and ma
terial progress on the part of the countr
= and of sterling honesty and integrity o
the part of the Government and peopl
&c that is without parallel in the world
i history.